Portuguese hacker linked to "Football Leaks" arrested in Hungary

The "Football Leaks" had uncovered the mechanisms of tax avoidance in the football world, especially for the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo while in Real Madrid. GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP

He had participated in the revelations of "Football Leaks", which had announced the mechanisms of tax avoidance in the football world.. Rui Pinto, a 30-year-old Portuguese hacker, presented by his lawyers as one "Whistleblower scheme", was arrested Wednesday, January 16, in Budapest, Hungary, at the request of the Portuguese justice.

Rui Pinto could be delivered to his country of origin within three weeks to a month, said the Portuguese police, who issued a European arrest warrant against him for suspicion of "Aggravated attempt at extortion" and other crimes related to data theft.

Describe their client as "A very big European whistleblower who participated in" Football Leaks ""His French and Portuguese lawyers warned in a statement that they would oppose his extradition.

Referring to the existence of a complaint made in Portugal by agent Doyen, who is already the target of the "Football Leaks", the representatives of Rui Pinto believe that his arrest is the result of a "Precipitation" of the Portuguese justice, according to them "Fully taken over" Dean's accusations. "Rui Pinto is still in custody and we are not aware of the accusations against him"said his Portuguese lawyer Francisco Teixeira da Mota.

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"At the origin of many revelations"

According to the Portuguese press, Rui Pinto is a self-taught computer scientist from Vila Nova de Gaia, in the outskirts of Porto, who has lived in Budapest for several years. In September, the magazine Sabado was the first to announce his name as the alleged hacker behind the "Football Leaks".Rui Pinto is "An important element of" Football Leaks "", to the extent that "He is the cause of many revelations"confirmed Me Teixeira da Mota.

In 2016, this survey by a consortium of European media had uncovered the mechanisms of tax avoidance in the football world, especially for the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo while in Real Madrid. The "Football Leaks" also revealed in April 2017 the existence of a case of alleged rape on Kathryn Mayorga, an American who recently publicly accused the five-fold Golden Ball.

In November, a new series of revelations focused on Paris-Saint-Germain and Manchester City, which would have been covered by UEFA to circumvent the rules of financial fair play, or FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who was too close to a Swiss officer of Justice.

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In Portugal, Rui Pinto is suspected of being the source of internal emails from Benfica used by FC Porto officials to accuse their rival in Lisbon of trying to control the referees.

These correspondences also led to a corruption process against a former Benfica legal adviser, who was accused of having access to various pieces of judicial information protected by the secret of the investigation. According to the Portuguese media, the arrest of Rui Pinto is linked to this "E-mails business"but the Portuguese police refused to confirm the information.